SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth women's soccer team heads to Oregon for two tough Northwest Conference contests this weekend. The Pirates play at unbeaten George Fox on Saturday and at Pacific (Ore.) on Sunday. Both matches will start at noon.
Links to live video and live statistics are available on the Whitworth women's soccer schedule.
The Pirates: Whitworth (1-3-1 overall, 1-1 NWC) split the first two conference matches at home last weekend.
The Pirates earned their first victory of the season, and Cameron Bushey's first win as Whitworth's women's soccer coach, against Willamette on Saturday. Kalena Pfaeltzer scored the match's only goal in the 65th minute on an assist by Savannah Acpal. Kate Nelson only had to make one save to preserve the shutout as the Pirate defense controlled the Bearcats' attack throughout the contest. Whitworth finished with a 17-4 advantage in shots, including a 12-1 edge in shots on-goal.
Whitworth was on the other end of a 1-0 result against Lewis & Clark on Sunday. The Pioneers' got an early goal and made it stand up, despite the fact that the Pirates ended with leads in total shots (18-9) and shots on-target (11-5). Nelson stopped three shots in the match.
The Buck (Ball) Stops Here: Senior GK Kate Nelson played all 1860 minutes as the only goalkeeper on the roster in 2021, leading all of NCAA Division III in goalie minutes played. She led the NWC in saves per game (4.90), was second in save percentage (.838) and third in goals-against average (0.919). She was second in the NWC and fifth in NCAA Division III in shutouts (10). Nelson was named second team All-Northwest Conference.
The Opponents: George Fox (4-0 overall, 2-0 NWC) shares the lead in the Northwest Conference after opening the league schedule with wins at Pacific (2-0) and at Puget Sound (3-0). Senior forward Maggie Phillips already has 11 goals this season. Perhaps even more impressive, the Bruins have not allowed a goal in four contests. Last year Whitworth defeated George Fox 2-0 at home and pulled out a 1-1 tie in Newberg.
Pacific (Ore.) is looking for its first NWC win following losses to George Fox (2-0) and Pacific Lutheran (3-1) last weekend. The Boxers are 3-2 overall and 0-2 in the NWC heading into a match with Whitman on Saturday. First-year forward Mirella Garcia has five goals this season, while junior MF Ivette Garcia-Gomez has three. Whitworth swept Pacific in 2021, winning 3-0 at home and 1-0 in the road.
The Coach: Whitworth soccer alum Cameron Bushey is in his first season as head coach of the women's soccer team. He came from Stanislaus State, where he was the top assistant coach. Bushey has club coaching stints in Spokane and Colorado and he was an assistant at Gonzaga University for two seasons (2018-19). He graduated from Whitworth in 2012 as a four-time All-NWC honoree who helped lead the Pirates to three NWC titles and NCAA Division III tournament appearances in 2008 and 2009.
Coming up: Whitworth will host Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran on October 1st and 2nd.
